Protecting-covering for boots and shoes and other articles and method of preparing same



E LIONNE. PROTECTING COVERING FOR BOOTS AND SHOES AND OTHER ARTICLES AND METHOD OF PREPARING SAME.

7 APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, I9IB. 1,339,462. t nted May 11, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. /0

ES 'CBUI E. LIONNE. PROTECTING COVERING FOR BOOTS AND SHOES AND OTHER ARTICLES AND METHOD OF PREPARING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, I918.

Patented May 11, 1920.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- in attaching and removing To all whom, 217 may concern UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST LIONNE, OF NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH. TO' A. C.

REINHARDT, 0F LYNN,

MASSACHUSETTS, ONE-FOURTH .TO W. J. DE. WITT, AND ONE- FOURTH TO S. J. HEINRICH, BOTH OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

. PROTECTING-COVERING FOR BOOTS AND SHOES AND OTHER ARTICLES AND METHOD 1 OF PREPARING SAME.

Be it known that I, ERNEST LIONNE, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at Needham, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have' invented an Improvement in Protecting-Coverings for Boots and Shoes and other Articles and Methods of Preparing same; of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a flexible improved covering for protecting the surface of an article and is expressly designed to cover a component part of a boot or shoe, to prevent said part being soiled during the process of manufacture.

Sometimes the vamp is the component part requiring protection, atother times the foxings, or the quarters, but 'usually it is the whole upper, or the lining or a portion thereof.

Heretofore coverings of different materials have been employed for this purpose, oil cloth, and while they are serviceable considerableexpense is involved attending their use, and much difficulty is encountered them without marring the shoe. L

And furthermore,,when they are interposed between the upper and sole or welt, as for instance, when lastedin, great difficulty is encountered in securing or leaving close seats, edges or tight seams when removed for it will be understood that when a covering is removed in case its edge portion is also removed, in whole or in part, a space is left at'the seam where removed, corresponding to the thickness of the covering, resulting in the formation of a loose seam, and causing the seam to grin, and in case its edge portion is not removed in whole or' in part then special means must be employed for treating it to disguise its existence.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a layer of material formed on a the article or component part of the shoe, and adapted to serve as a protecting covering therefor, and durable to enable the article or component part thereof to be grasped by hand or held by a machine and manipulated temporarily as may be required in the manu- U Specification of Letters Patent.

as paper, cloth, rubberized cloth, and

which isv sufliciently strong Patented May 11, 1920.

Application filed July 5, 1918. Serial No. 243,499.

facture of the shoe, without crumbling or cracking off or peeling off, and exposing portions of the part which it covers and by mechanical means, as by a power driven.

brush or other suitable abrading device when the shoe is finished.

Another object is the provision of suc protecting layer of material which is flexible, so that it may be applied to a flexible article, as a. skin or fabric in the cutting room, either before or after it is cut, or to the cut pieces or upper before it is lasted, and the upper bent during the lasting operation, or so that it may be applied to the top of the upper or to the lining, or other component part where flexibility is required, either before or after the lasting operation.

Another-Qdbiect is the association with the V in such case it may be desirable to employ a protecting covering of a color and shadewhich matches'the same, in lieu of white, so

that in case any fragments or particles of the protecting covering should remain on said component part, as a result of the removal operation, they will not be visible.

Again, the component part or parts which are supposed to match may vary slightly in shade or hue, owing to being taken from different-parts of a skin or from different skins of the same color but which do vary slightly in shade, and in such case it may be necessary to slightly stain one or another of said parts.

For this purpose a colored pigment or dye or both may be associated with the composition.

Again, it may be desirable to stain the entire surface of the component part, or parts, and in such case a dye may be associated with a white pigment or with a colored pigment,'or may be associated with the remainder of the composition or certain ingredients thereof, and 'the pigment, as

. such, omitted.

material composing the protecting layer and having a colored pigment ordye, or

bothi1 of ingredients which upon reactionfix t e color, said ingredients also subservingother functions, as for instance, they mayvserve as the carrier for the colored pigthe component part which is to be protected ment or dye, or both, acting to hold the same in suspension while'being applied to and forming thereon a protecting covering.

Another object is the method of temporary protection of a component part of a shoe and other article by which a fluid composition is finely divided. and the finely divided particles forcibly applied to the component part and a layer of substantially "uniform thickness and of great density formed thereon, which layer is allowed to dry and harden and temporarily form a protecting means for said part, but which .is subsequently removed in fragments by mechanical means.

Another object isthemethod of tempoof said part, said densely formed layer bein;

sufficiently strong to withstand temporarily manipulation by hand or mechanism, as for instance during the manufacture of the shoe, without-crumbling or cracking off or peeling off, and thus exposing the part which it is intended to protect, and sufficiently friable to admit of its being removed in fragments by mechanical means subsequently, as for instance when the shoe is finished, and in case the coloring substance is employed in any of its well known forms the part which is being protected willbe colored accordingly.

The invention also consists in the method of temporarily .protecting a component part of a shoe during its manufacture, or other article during a period of time, which consists in applying a fluid composition in a finelydivided state to the part to be protected, producing thereon a layer of dense formation, then drying said layer and subsequently removing said layer in fragments by mechanical means.

The invention also consists in the method of temporarily protectingand permanently coloring a component part of a shoe during rary protect-ion and permanently coloring a component part of a shoe or other article by the employment of a fluid composition containing a coloring substance, which is adapted to be finely divided, and the finely divided particles forcibly applied to the component part and a layer of substantially uniform thickness and of great ,density' formed thereon, which layer is allowed todry and harden and form the temporary protecting means for said part and which is subsequently removed in fragments by mechanical means, said composition including ingredients which act as a fixative for the co or Another object is the method of temporarily coating andpermanently coloring the surface of a component part of a shoe or other article during its manufacture or at any ,other time, which consists in forcibly applying thereto in a finely divided state a fluid composition containing a coloring substance and a fixative therefor to form a,

dense-layer thereon, drying said layer and subsequently removing said layer in fragmnts.

The invention consists in a protecting covering composed offinely divided particles with or without coloring matter, such as a colored pigment or dye, either or both,

. forcibly compacted together and to the part which they protect, and adhesively secured together and to the part which they protect,

conforms to all irregularities in the surface its manufacture or other article during a period of time, which consists in forcibly applying a fluid composition containing a coloring substance, in a finely divided state to the part to be protected to produce thereon a layer of dense formation and to color said part, then drying said layer and subsequently removing said layer in fragments by mechanical means.

Figures 1 and 2, are side elevations of a shoe upper having its vamp partially covered by protecting means embodying this invention.

Fig. 3, is a fragment of a shoe upper, its lining or portion thereof having a protecting covering embodying this invention.

Fig. 4:, is a view of a skin having a protecting covering thereon, broken away.

Fig. 5, is a view illustrating the'application of the protecting composition to the upper of the shoe by an atomizing device.

ig. 6, is a view illustrating the removal of the protecting layer by a rotary brush.

The protecting covering embodying this invention may be composed of a pigment of finely divided material, usually an inert material, such as kaolin, zinc oxid, white lead, magnesia, or talc, either alone or with others as desired; and. an adhesive substance, such as any one of quite, a number of gums, mucilages or glues, as for instance, gum tragacanth, starch dextrin, gelatin; and a sulfonated oil, as turkey red oil or a saponified oil; and water.

The pigment gives to the composition a substantial body and the kinds of pigments recited are .adapted to be finely divided into minute particles which may be forcibly 'driven into compact relation with each with other pigments if desired.

pigment.

The oil and the gum are soluble in waterand form a solution by which to hold thev kaolin or other pigment in suspension for a 7 long period of time, the fluid mass being substantially homogeneous during such pe-- riod of time.

The gum gives to the composition the proper viscosity and at the same time the proper adherency to the component parts to be protected, be it made of leather or canvas or other material, and when in solution with the water forms a fluid carrier for the pigment. a i

The turkey red oil or other Water soluble oil prevents the mass from! clinging together, thus increasingits flowing qualities and consequently its separating qualities into minute particles. It also increases-the flexibility of the layer. v

As a typical example I may employ the composition ofmy application filed July 5 1918, Serial No. 243,498, which consists of from 500 to 700 gr. of kaolin, 100 to 150 gr. of gum tragacanth, 50 to 100 gr. of turke red oil and 1000 gr. of Water;

These ingredients-and also their respective amounts may be varied, and the Water may be replaced by a volatile liquid, such as wood alcohol, grain alcohol, etc., which Would result in a more rapid drying of the covering. a I

Whencolored pigments are used they usually replace in variable proportion a corresponding amount of white pigment according to the shade desired, for it will be understood that for the deepest or darkest shales little or no white pigment will be use The usual pigment is white, but it may be colored, as there may be addedthereto lamp black, red lead, chrome yellow, Prussian blue, and other coloring substance s.

Or in case a dye is employed as a coloring substance 20 gr. of any suitable dye may ,actsto remove said layer in fragments, see

be added to the composition set forth in the above example.

When it is desired to use a colored pig-' mentbut not to stain the component part, the coloring substance may be added to the white pigment, thusforming a colored pigment, but when it is desired to stain the part to which it is applied a dye of any suit able shade is usually employed, which may be added to the pigment or to the colored As the composition herein referred to is water soluble a water soluble dye will be employed.

- the work is roughly handled,fand will not 4 be embedded in all irregularities of the suringredients of the composition, as in the example noted, a reaction occurs, the exactnature of which is not at present thorou hly understood,and the dye becomes fixeci at least sufficiently so tor all practical purposes, for I find that these ingredients act like a mordantor fixative forthe dye.-

The fluid mass above recited is very thick, about as thick as molasses, and will just flow at room temperature.

I find that a mass of heavy consistency better holds the pigment in suspension or I maintains homogeneous relationship for a long period of time which enables power op erated means to be employed to finely divide the same and forcibly drive the particles into dense layer 'formationiori the article Where protection .is' desired.

Without applicationofflfforce the suspended particleslare' looselyarranged'in the 85 adhesives'ubstanceand ifapplied to an'ar ticle when in such condition and permitted to dry and harden the residue thereon Wlll be more or less soft'and'granulanandwill crumble or can be chipped off easily' in case face ofthe article; but I have discovered that by applying the mass with an'atomiziiig device, as 40, familiarly known as an air brush, see Fig. 5, which is connected to an air pressure, of say 7 5 lbs., that the mass is finely divided and the finely divided particles are driven into the voids so that they become embedded therein and are thus forcibly compacted together and to the article, as well as adhesively secured together and to the article, and as a result the layer which is formed on the article is of great density and considerable tenacity and durability and which when dry and hard may be more or less roughly handled and manipulated, as may be required during the manufacture of a shoe without crumbling or chipping off or Vpieling o en it becomes necessary to remove the protecting layer it may be subjected to the action of a rapidly rotating brush having stifi' bristles, like a scrubbing brush, which;

. layer, except in so far as they may be modified by the fixative quality of the gum and Oil. J v

In case said article is colored it may be necessary to employ a colored'covering as contrasted to a white solution, so as to leave the article with its original .color or prevent 1 it has been lasted to protect the upper from being soiled in the further manufacture of the shoe; or it may be applied to the flat upper, see Fig. 2; and the coated upper bent and formed into shape; or it may be applied to the lining 20, see Fig. 3; or it may be applied to a whole skin, see Fig. 4.

In case the protecting composition has flexible characteristics as the I composition herein described and is applied to a flat upper or piece, or to a skin, or in case it is applied-to the lasted upper it will be observed that the material of the layer is interposed between the upper and the sole or Welt, and extends to the edge in continuation of the layer over the remalnder.

When the protecting layer is removed in small fragments by the power operated brush the edge portion will still remain interposed between the upper and the sole or welt, but owing to the density of the layer and its adhesiveness the seam will be tight and the, stitches protected yet it will not be visible and requlres no means to disguise 1t.

I claim 1. A shoe having protecting means for its surface consisting of a layer of ,material formed on the article ofsubstantially uniform thickness and great density and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together and to the surface, and adhesively secured together and to the surface, and conformingto all irregularities in the surface, said layer being stro'n'g and durable to withstand manipulation, and friable to admit of its being removed in fragments by mechanical means.

2. An article of manufacture including a flexible component having temporary protecting means for its surface, consisting of a layer of material formed on the surface of substantially uniform thickness and great density, and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together and to the surface and adhesively secured together and to the surface, and conforming to all irregularities in the surface, said layer being strong and durable to withstand manipulation, and also flexible to admit of bending and friable to admit of its being removed in fragments by power actuated means,

3. A shoe having protecting means for its upper consistin of a layer of material of great density ormed on said upper and extending to the edge thereof, and composed of finely divided particles forcibly com- I composed of finely divide compacted together and to'the article,,and

pacted together and to said upper and adconcealed and remaining intact and confining the stitches and assisting in tightly closing the seam. y

4. An article of manufacture characterized by a colored surface, having surface protecting means consisting of a layer of material formed thereon of substantially uniform thickness and great density and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together and to the surface, and

adhesively secured together and to the sur-' face, and a coloring substance similar to the color of the surface of the article intimately associated therewith, said densely formed layer being strong and durable to withstand manipulation, and sufficiently friable to ad- -mit of its being removed in fragments.

5. An article of manufacture characterized by a colored surface, having surface protecting means, consisting of a layer of material formed thereon of substantially uniform thickness and great density and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together, and to said part, and adhesively secured together and to said'part, v

and including a pigment of a color similar to' the colorof the surface of the article, said densely formed layer being strong and durable to withstand manipulation and friable to admit of its being removed in fragments.

6. An article of manufacture having surface protecting means, consisting of a layer of material formed thereon of substantially uniform thickness and great density and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together and to the article, and,

adhesively secured together and to the article, and including a pigment and a dye, said densely formed layer being strong and durable to withstand manipulation and friable to admit of its being removed in fragments. 1

7. An article of manufacture having surface protecting m'eans consisting of a layer of material formed thereon of substantially uniform thickness and reat .density and 5 particles forcibly adhesively secured together and to the article, and including a colored pigment and a dye, said densely formed. layer being strong and durable to Withstand manipulation, and friable to admit. of its being removed in fragments.

8. An article of manufacture having surface protecting means, consisting of a layer of material formed thereon of substantially ,uniform thickness and great density and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together and to the article, and adhesively secured together and to the article, and including a substance to color the article, one or more ofthe ingredients of the protecting means acting to fix the coloring substance, said densely formed layer being strong and durable to Withstand manipulation and friable to admit of its being removed in fragments.

9. An article of manufacture having surface protecting means consisting of a layer of material formed thereon of substantially uniform thickness and great density and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together and to the article, and adhesively secured together and to the article, andincluding a shoe coloring substance, one or more of the ingredients of the protecting means acting to fix the coloring substance, said densely formed layer being strong and durable to Withstand manipulation and friable to admit of its being re-' moved in fragments.

10. A surface protectlng and treating.

means for an article consisting of a layer of material formed on the article of substantially uniform thickness and great density material formed on the article of substantially uniform thickness and great density and composed of finely divided particles forcibly compacted together and to the article, and adhesively secured together and to the article, and including a colored pigment and a dye, one or more of the ingredients of said means acting to fix the dye, said densely formed layer being strong and durable to Withstand manipulation and friable to admit of its being removed in fragments.

12. The method of temporarily protecting the surface of an article, Which consists in M. The methodof temporarily protecting and permanently coloring an article which consists in applying a fluid composition containing an article coloring substance, and a fixative for the color, in a finely divided state, to the article to form a layer thereon, drying said layer, and subsequently removing said layer in fragments.

In testimony whereof, I have signed-my name to this specification, in the presence of the subscribing Witness.

ERNEST LIONNE 

